Sŏk Pŏpkong was the twenty-third king of Silla, Pŏphung (514-540). His secular name was Wŏnjong 原宗; he was the first son of King Chijŭng 智證王 (500-514)[348] and Lady Yŏnje 延帝夫人. He was seven feet tall. Generous, he loved the people, and they [in turn] regarded him as a saint or a sage. Millions of people, therefore, placed confidence in him.[349] In the third year (516) a dragon appeared in the Willow Well 楊井.[350] In the fourth year (517)[351] the Board of War was established, and in the seventh year (520) laws and statutes were promulgated together with the official costumes.[352] After his enthronement, whenever the king attempted to spread Buddhism, his ministers opposed him with much dispute.[353] He felt frustrated, but, remembering Ado’s devout vow, he summoned all his officials and said to them: “Our august ancestor, [King] Mich‘u, together with Ado, propagated Buddhism, but he died before great merits were accumulated. That the knowledge of the wonderful transformation of Śākyamuni[354] should be prevented from spreading makes me very sad. We think we ought to erect monasteries and recast images to continue our ancestor’s fervor. What do you think?” Minister Kongal 恭謁[355] and others remonstrated with the king, saying, “In recent years the crops have been scarce, and the people are restless.[356] Besides, because of frequent border raids from the neighboring state, our soldiers are still engaged in battle. How can we exhort our people to erect a useless building at this time?” The king, depressed at the lack of faith among his subordinates, sighed, saying, “We,[357] lacking moral power, are unworthy of succeeding to the throne. The yin and the yang are disharmonious and the people[358] ill at ease; therefore you opposed my idea and did not want to follow. Who can enlighten the strayed people by the wonderful Law?” For some time no one answered.
In the sixteenth year (529)[359] the Grand Secretary (Naesa sain 內史舍人)[360] Pak Yŏmch‘ok 朴厭髑 (Ich‘adon 異次頓 or Kŏch‘adon 居次頓),[361] then twenty-six years old, was an upright man. With a heart that was sincere and deep, he advanced resolutely for the righteous cause.[362] Out of willingness to help the king fulfill his noble vow, he secretly memorialized the throne: “If Your Majesty desires to establish Buddhism, may I ask Your Majesty to pass a false decree to this officer that the king desires to initiate Buddhist activities? Once the ministers learn of this, they will undoubtedly remonstrate. Your Majesty, declaring that no such decree has been given, will then ask who has forged the royal order. They will ask Your Majesty to punish my crime, and if their request is granted,[363] they will submit to Your Majesty’s will.”
The king said, “Since they are bigoted and haughty, We fear they will not be satisfied even with your execution.” [Yŏmch‘ok] replied, “Even the deities venerate the religion of the Great Sage. If an officer as unworthy as myself is killed for its cause, miracles must happen between Heaven and Earth. If so, who then will dare to remain bigoted and haughty?” The king answered, “Our basic wish is to further the advantageous and remove the disadvantageous. But now we have to injure a loyal subject. Is this not sorrowful?” [1019a] [Yŏmch‘ok] replied, “Sacrificing his life in order to accomplish goodness is the great principle of the official. Moreover, if it means the eternal brightness of the Buddha-sun and the perpetual solidarity of the kingdom, the day of my death will be the year of my birth.” The king, greatly moved, praised Yŏmch‘ok and said, “Though you are a commoner, your mind harbors thoughts worthy of brocaded and embroidered robes.” Thereupon the king and Yŏmch‘ok vowed to be true to each other.
Afterwards, a royal decree was issued, ordering the erection of a monastery in the Forest of the Heavenly Mirror, and officials in charge began construction. The court officials,[364] as expected, denounced it and expostulated with the king.[365] The king remarked, “We did not issue such an order.” Thereupon Yŏmch‘ok spoke out, “Indeed, I did this purposely, for if we practice Buddhism the whole country will become prosperous and peaceful. As long as it is good for the administration of the realm, what wrong can there be in forging a decree?” Thereupon, the king called a meeting and asked the opinion of the officials. All of them remarked, “These days monks bare their heads and wear strange garments. Their discourses are wrong and in violation of the Norm.[366] If we unthinkingly follow their proposals, there may be cause for regret. We dare not obey Your Majesty’s order, even if we are threatened with death.” Yŏmch‘ok spoke with indignation, saying, “All of you are wrong, for there must be an unusual personage before there can be an unusual undertaking. I have heard that the teaching of Buddhism is profound and arcane. We must practice it. How can a sparrow know the great ambition of a swan?”[367] The king said, “The will of the majority is firm and unalterable.[368] You are the only one who takes a different view. I cannot follow two advices at the same time.” He then ordered the execution [of Yŏmch‘ok].
[Yŏmch‘ok] then made an oath to Heaven: “I am about to die for the sake of the Law. I pray that righteousness and the benefit [of the religion] will spread. If the Buddha has a Numen,[369] a miracle should occur after my death.” When he was decapitated, his head flew to Diamond Mountain 金剛山,[370] falling on its summit, and white milk (ksīra) gushed forth from the cut, soaring up several hundred feet.[371] The sun darkened, wonderful flowers rained from Heaven, and the earth trembled violently. The king, his officials, and the commoners, on the one hand terrified by these strange phenomena, and on the other sorrowful for the death of the Grand Secretary, who had sacrificed his life for the cause of the Law, cried aloud and mourned. They buried his body on Diamond Mountain with due ceremony. At that time the king and his officials took an oath: “Hereafter we will worship the Buddha and revere the clergy. If we break the oath, may Heaven strike us dead.”
The gentleman says:[372] “The great sage responds to the blessing of a myriad years. Goodness is born from lucky signs, and righteousness is stirred by auspices. He never fails to respond to Heaven and Earth, to be coterminous with the sun and moon, and to move the spirits, to say nothing of men.[373] For once he is confident in the Way, he will never fail to obtain assistance from Heaven and Earth. But a work is valued for its success, and a karma for its far-reaching merit. One could take up T‘ai Mountain [as if it were] lighter than a feather[374] if one could make oneself truly worthy of the confidence of others. How glorious! Yŏmch‘ok death is really the proper way of dying.” The same year[375] a decree forbade the taking of life. (The above is based on the national history and various documents which the author has rearranged.)
In the twenty-first year (534) trees in the Forest of the Heavenly Mirror were felled in order to build a monastery. When the ground was cleared, pillar bases, stone niches, and steps were discovered, proving the site to be that of an old monastery (cāturdiśa). Materials for beams and pillars came from the forest. The monastery being completed, the king abdicated and became a monk. He changed his name to Pŏpkong, mindful of the Three Garments (trīni-cīvarāni) and the begging bowl.[376] He aspired to lofty conduct and had compassion for all.[377] Accordingly, the monastery was named [1019b] Taewang Hŭngnyun 大王興論 because it was the king’s abode. This was the first monastery erected in Silla.[378]
The queen,[379] too, served Buddha by becoming a nun and residing at the Yŏnghŭng monastery. Since the king had patronized a great cause, he was given the posthumous epithet of Pŏphŭng 法興, which is by no means idle flattery. Thereafter, at every anniversary of Yŏmch‘ok’s death, an assembly was held at the Hŭngnyun monastery to commemorate his martyrdom. In the reign of King T‘aejong Muyŏl 太宗武烈王 (654-66l),[380] Prime Minister Kim Yang-do 金良圖,[381] whose faith was inclined westward,[382] offered his two daughters, Hwabo 化寶 and Yŏnbo 蓮寶, as maids in the monastery. The relatives of Mo Ch‘ŏk 毛尺,[383] a traitor, were also reduced in rank and made to become servants. Descendants of these two kinds of people[384] serve there even today.
When I was traveling in the Eastern Capital,[385] I ascended the Diamond Mountain. Upon seeing a lonely mound and low tombstone,[386] I was unable to stop lamenting. That day, monks assembled to eat and, when asked, they told me it was an anniversary of the Grand Secretary’s death. Indeed, the more time passed, the more dear he was thought to be. According to the inscription on Ado’s tombstone, King Pŏphŭng’s Buddhist name was Pŏbun 法雲, and his polite name, Pŏpkong. I have distinguished two biographies here, based on the national history and Sui chŏn. Those who are interested in antiquity will do well to study the matter.
The eulogy says: Usually the sovereign, with the subject’s help, can keep established law but cannot innovate. Moreover, there are such factors as the appropriateness of the time and the faith of the people. Therefore, although King Wŏnjong wished to propagate Buddhism, he could not expect his order to be carried out overnight. But, thanks to the power of his original vow, the prestige of his position, and the counsel of a wise official, he succeeded in making the kingdom prosper by acts of grace[387] and became the equal of [Emperor] Ming of the Han. How great he is!—for who can carp at him? It is, however, wrong to compare him with [Emperor] Wu (464-502-549) of Liang,[388] for, while the latter served in the T‘ung-t‘ai monastery 同泰寺[389] as a servant and let his imperial work fall to the ground, the former [Pŏpkong] first surrendered his throne in order to install his heir and only afterwards became a monk. Of what selfishness can one accuse him? As Yŏmch‘ok’s career[390] attests, king and bhiksu, though physically different, are of the same substance. Indeed, Yŏmch‘ok’s power was such that he could dispel the clouds of illusion, cause the wisdom-sun of Emptiness to radiate everywhere, and fly with the Buddha-sun under his arm.